March 6, 2019

Teaching Upgrades?

We had a great discussion today in New Media about Nicholas Negroponte’s 1995 book Being Digital.

I ended the class with a frank discussion of my teaching style and the class in general. I am curious as to why students just don’t seem to like it and me. One student volunteered that she had preconceived notions that likely clouded her attitude toward the class — notions based on former students’ gripes.

I made an offer: let’s redesign the class the way they would want it. I asked them to think about what they’d like from what’s supposed to be their last class as seniors — after all, there’s nothing to stop me from making the course whatever I want it to be. We’ll see what they come up with.

I continue to work on Project Mailer, specifically my grad class and Frank D. McConnell’s chapter on Mailer.